Disavowal: The Metaphysics of Escape
Author | : Jake Nabasny |
Publisher | : Lulu.com |
Total Pages | : 182 |
Release | : 2019-12-04 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781794784949 |
ISBN-13 | : 1794784942 |
Rating | : 4/5 (49 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Self, Ego, Subject � these are the terms that philosophers have used to define that indelible mark of an individual. At the same time, however, a counter-current runs through the history of philosophy and culture that challenges the primordiality and privilege of the purportedly self-identical Subject. This collection of texts from 2012-2018 traces the history of disavowal, a line of escape from subjectivity. Breaking free of the binary logic of affirmation-negation, these essays contend that a third possibility exists in the realm of human action: disavowal. Disavowal is a sly sidestepping of boolean responses, an absolute negation that nevertheless posits an alternative course of action. Positing that a refusal to participate in the current global capitalist order need not be a refusal of the world as such this collection engages in topics from Cartesian subjectivity to Sia's live performance of "Chandelier," these essays provide a timely meditation on an urgent question and illuminate a path forward.